A Small Death in the Sunset
by Peony-princesa
Summary: Is it fate that brings Nil and Aloy together again, or do they unconsciously search each other out? Aloy continues to deny her more passionate nature until Nil drags it out of her. They're both feeling things they know they shouldn't. Second part to A lesson in Blood


Among all of Nil's many qualities, predictability was not a characteristic that he possessed. It had been weeks since his encounter with Aloy, and she hadn't come across so much as a dead bandit, pierced with one of his arrows; though, if she was going to be completely honest, she wasn't exactly hunting him down. Their encounter had given Aloy a lot to think about, and she still wasn't entirely sure about how it had made her feel. On one hand, she didn't want to think about it at all. Nil had smashed through her barriers and dragged her, kicking and clawing, out of her comfort zone without once stopping to allow her to proceed at her own pace. She was still angry at him for that, and had spent many a night since imagining a scenario where she was able to see him again and send her fist crashing into his smug, expressionless face.

On an entirely different note, the memory of what it felt like to have his fingers curling up inside her made Aloy groan in frustration, wishing, though she'd never admit it, that she could feel his body weight on top of her again. She'd tried using her own fingers, and even though it soothed the itch for a little while, the image of Nil above her, staring into her eyes while he thrust himself inside of her would always send a hot flush throughout her whole body, and send her right back to her frustrations.

Pushing her lustful thoughts to the back of her mind, Aloy turned her attention to the shellwalker she had been stalking. She had been after a herd of the machines all day; being as she was painfully short on precision arrows, she was harvesting the machines for wire, and so had taken to whittling them down by blowing off their vulnerable components with harvesting arrows and then luring them one by one away from the others and finishing them off with traps and bombs. It had been a long and laborious process; she would focus on one machine at a time, striking them where they were vulnerable, and then hiding until they dropped their alarms.

Having worn the herd down to one last shellwalker, Aloy fitted an arrow to her bow and aimed it at it's head. Just as she was about to let it fly, a movement caught her attention out of the corner of her eye; a man was running up the road toward her, holding a bow and throwing glances over his shoulder as he went. Aloy crouched lower in the grass, deciding to wait for the man to pass before finishing off her prey and collecting her loot.

As the man drew closer, Aloy could see by his clothing that he was likely part of a local bandit clan, meaning that there were more of his companions nearby and she would need to remain concealed if she wanted to avoid a fight. As Aloy continued watching, two more men appeared around the side of the mountain, running in the same direction as the first man, but at a much faster, more urgent pace. The reason for their haste was soon evident as a bellowback came charging from the same direction as the bandits had come. Aloy realized that the first group were the decoys, and were drawing the attention of the large machine, while another group followed behind, lobbing bombs and arrows at the bellowback as it went. The machine would occasionally turn on its pursuers, whereupon the bandits ahead would turn and attack it.

The bandits soon brought the bellowback down, destroying the Aloy's last shellwalker in the process, and making it obvious that a fight was unavoidable as they began looting the fallen machines, including the ones she had just killed. Cursing her lack of arrows, Aloy knew she had to make each one count "I only have three arrows, and there are at least eight of these guys," she mumbled to herself "I'll be able to take out at least that many without sparking suspicion if I'm careful, and if any of them get close enough, I can probably bring them down without much fuss."

Fortunately, the bandits were so engrossed in stripping the machines, that they let down their guard, and Aloy managed to drop two that wandered away from the others without rousing any of their comrades. A third was going to be tricky, as they had begun to congregate near the center of the area. Aloy picked one that seemed to be wandering off by himself, and fitted an arrow to her bow, readying herself for when she felt that he was far enough away from the others to make her move. She failed to realize that her target was moving toward where she had already brought down one of the other bandits, and was just about to release her arrow, when the man spotted the body of one of his companions.

Aloy saw him start, and let her arrow fly, hoping to kill him before he could alert the other bandits, but she was too late; he whirled around just as the arrow flew past his face, letting out a shout, and pulled out a horn that Aloy had failed to notice, blowing an alarm out to everyone within earshot. "Dammit!" she swore "There's no way they won't find me now." The bandits had already begun sweeping the area, coming closer and closer to her hiding spot; Aloy took out her spear, readying herself to attack the first one that came close enough. She soon had her chance when one of them started searching through the patch of grass she was currently concealing herself in; waiting until he was within inches, Aloy gripped the haft and stood up, shoving the spear in an upward motion as she went, burying it in his chest and twisting it hard as the corresponding shout and gurgle confirmed her kill.

Just as she had predicted, the bandit's comrades heard his dying cries and spotted Aloy instantly, screaming at each other to get her, and charging toward where she now stood, in full view. She cut through the couple that got to her first with a fair amount of ease, but as she was doing so, she heard the horn blast several more times, making her heart sink as she realized that their band was even bigger than the eight that she was dealing with, and an unknown number of reinforcements were in all likelihood close by and on the way. She decided that her last hope of getting out of a full scale fight was to kill the remaining three bandits before the others arrived, and then run and hide before the others arrived.

Aloy hurled herself at the bandit closest to her; he was bigger than the others, and stood his ground, not allowing her to take him down to where she could finish him. While she was grappling with the one, his companions reached them and dragged her off of him, throwing her to the ground and uniting in their efforts to subdue her. Aloy had speed on her side, and was quick to jump to her feet, but she was hard pressed, defending herself against three attackers at once. They came at her as hard as they could, screaming that she would pay for taking out their fellow bandits, but she managed to fend them off for a time, inflicting injuries on the two smaller ones, and slowing them down, while staying out of the reach of the bigger one, knowing that if he got a solid grip on her, she was finished.

Seeing an opportunity, Aloy jabbed the tip of her spear into the thigh of one of the smaller bandits, the resulting cry and full stream of blood confirming her aim to the femoral artery was true, and he went down quickly. _"Only two more to go."_ she thought grimly as she threw up her spear to block a blow from her larger attacker, consequently receiving a harsh blow to the ribs from the remaining smaller one as she did so. Aloy felt the air leaving her lungs as the force of the blow knocked the wind out of her; knowing that her natural reflex would be to double over, she made use of the motion by planting a foot and rotating her body, swinging her spear in a downward arc and making a deep slash across the man's chest, ensuring that he also would soon bleed out beyond the skills of any healer to mend.

As the combined momentum of her reflex and strike brought her to the ground, the last bandit kicked Aloy onto her back and seized her by the throat, squeezing until her vision started to blur. Just as everything began to go dark, and she considered her last moments, she felt the grip on her neck go slack; as her vision came back to her, Aloy noticed that the man above her, though still gripping her throat, was staring straight through her, no consciousness registering in his eyes. Upon further recovery, she noticed the tip of a blade growing out of his own throat, blood seeping out, and dribbling down that tip and onto the front of her outfit. The man had suddenly become very floppy, dead weight, and it was all Aloy could do to shove him off of her, rolling onto her side when she had done so, and catching her breath in long, drawn-out gasps.

When she had recovered her breath enough to sit up, she looked around, searching for the origin of the blade that saved her life. She didn't have far to look, as the bright red plumage of his headdress stood out for miles in the midday sun; Nil was sprawled nonchalantly, one leg drawn up to his chest, on a boulder right next to her. "Y-you were the one who saved me? Why?" she blurted out as he jumped down lightly and went over to retrieve his knife from the last bandit's throat. Wiping the blade of on the man's clothes, he shrugged "They can't kill you, girl. I won that right, it's my decision to make whether you live or die, and I wasn't going to let some filthy, hamfisted bandits take such a delicate pleasure away from me." His words made Aloy's stomach churn lightly, while also raising her ire; he seemed so confident in his power over her, and she didn't like it. Brushing the feeling aside, she quickly swept the surrounding landscape with her gaze "As much as I enjoy our chats, Nil, there are most likely a lot more bandits on the way, one of them had a horn and called to them, as I'm sure you heard if you've been here long."

He shrugged arily "You mean the ten I found on the other side of the mountain? No need to rush, they fell quite easily." Aloy dropped her hand from her brow and glared at him before turning back to her work of collecting her loot. Tossing her hair haughtily, as she did so, she shot over her back "You had your chance to kill me and you let it go. That's over now."

Nil's eyes glinted mischievously "I suppose I could have allowed these scavengers a few more hits on you, all eight of them looked rather vicious, and while I'm sure you would have survived either way, you might have come out less clean if I hadn't." Aloy, who had by then began ripping parts out of a dead shellwalker in an attempt to give him the idea that she really didn't care what he thought or did, whirled around and fixed him with a furious stare "You mean you were there the whole time and you did nothing until I was almost dead?" He gave her a smirk "I may have been enjoying the show, yes. How can I help it? I do enjoy watching you in action, killing this scum, and you never want my help anymore."

"How am I supposed to ask for your help when I haven't seen you in almost a month and a half?!" she raged, making him let out a quiet chuckle "You could have simply called out my name; it's already on your mind at night when you're all alone and trying to reproduce even the ghost of what I made you feel last we saw each other." Aloy flushed a deep crimson "That was...I don't know what that was…" she trailed off, not sure of how to continue "Anyway, you're here now, what do you want?" He had fixed her with his hawk-like gaze as she was speaking, and continued to stare at her for several moments before answering "You know why I'm here, girl." he told her as he began to slowly advance on her "I made a promise to you last we met, you remember."

Unconsciously backing away as he came closer, Aloy could feel her heartbeat quickening; memories of the last time they'd seen each other came flooding back and she could feel her arousal building in the pit of her belly like a viper preparing to strike. They continued like that until Aloy was backed up against a large rock, and stayed there, staring at each other for what felt like an eternity; Nil daring her to run away like she had done before, and Aloy daring him to make the first move. He stepped forward, making as if to close the gap between him, and, anticipating such a move, Aloy's hand shot out to his chest, blocking him from coming closer, neither of them breaking eye contact the whole time. She could feel Nil's heartbeat beneath the warm skin that touched her hand, it was steady and unfaltering; he knew what he was doing there, what he wanted, and that he was going to get it.

Nil grabbed Aloy's wrist and pulled her hand away, only for her other hand to flash out and take its place; wrapping his free hand around that wrist, he sighed "I suppose it would be fitting that we always start with trading blows." he said as he pried her hand away and pinned both of them to the rock behind her with his own "To be honest, I enjoy this part almost as much as when you're writhing around underneath me. The beautiful feeling of fists colliding with flesh, and knowing that the bruises will blossom on your skin under the places I touch you is so sublime." His words made Aloy's breath catch in her throat; part of her wanted him to throw her down and plunge himself into her right then and there, but another, louder part wanted to show him that she wasn't going to simply give him what he wanted. He should suffer for it first; though she'd never admit that she loved fighting him, too.

She moved to slam her knee into his groin, but this time it was he who anticipated her intention and stepped backwards slightly, causing her to miss, but loosening his hold on one of her wrists at the same time. Aloy wrenched that wrist from Nil's grasp and lifted the arm he still held, ducking beneath it in an attempt to spin out of his grasp. Her miscalculation was in forgetting that he was a seasoned soldier, and wouldn't be so easily thrown off his intent. He spun with her, retaining his hold, and aimed a sweeping kick at her leg, bringing her down on one knee. Aloy, not about to let him think he was getting an upper hand, snatched the small herb harvesting blade she wore on her belt and plunged it into the side of his thigh, the resulting pain just enough to loosen his hold, and she was free, exulting in having been the first one to draw blood this time.

Not to be outdone, Nil's own blade was soon in his hand, and they began circling each other like apex predators, waiting for the other to show a weakness and then exploit it. Aloy attacked first this time, lunging forward and sweeping her knife in a horizontal motion at waist height, as if to gut him. Nil was exceptionally nimble, and her attack lacked the passion of an intended killing blow, allowing him to dodge it with ease, though he came back in full force with a slash to her side, exactly where he had injured her in their previous fight; and although a significant amount of time had passed, Aloy still had a strong sense of consciousness for the wound's location, and doubled over as if he had truly hit one of her vital organs. Nil seized his opportunity and grabbed her by the back of her collar, spun her around and shoving her back against the rock wall that their encounter had started with.

They stayed there for a few heated moments, staring at each other until they both came to the same unspoken conclusion; their mouths crashed into each other, hands tearing at clothes in an impassioned frenzy. Blades that were before trained on flesh, were now put to work in freeing them of their cloth restraints. Aloy dug her fingers into the feathers of Nil's headdress and pulled his head to the side, sinking her teeth into his neck and sucking hard until the skin puckered and rose in an angry welt. He responded with a deep groan, grabbing her ass with both hands and grinding his hips against hers, then giving a few hard thrusts, drawing a few sighs out of Aloy herself.

With one hand still firmly attached to her ass, Nil kicked her legs apart and shoved his other hand down the front of her pants, sliding a finger through her wetness before plunging his middle and ring fingers into her. "Is this how you try to do it when you're all alone?" He hissed in her ear "Do you imagine my fingers fucking you until you gush like a fountain?" As aroused as she was, Aloy still clung to her last shreds of pride and stubbornly refused to answer him, knowing that was exactly what he wanted."Does your cunt quiver when you remember how you cried like a babe the first time I made you cum?" she knew he was trying to goad her into acknowledging the pleasure he gave her, but she wasn't lost to the point where she'd grovel for him, she was sure of that.

Seeing that she wouldn't bend so easily, Nil withdrew the hand that had been clinging to her ass and slowed the movements of his fingers until Aloy was bucking and grinding her own hips, against his, desperately searching for any friction she could find that would ease the desire roaring through her veins. "Do you need something, girl?" he asked through his gritted teeth "I won't move til you say it." Her resolve was strong, but she couldn't help but notice the fact that his hand was cupped tightly over her sex, refusing her the one thing she wanted now more than anything at that moment.

Deciding to try out a few tactics of her own, Aloy nuzzled her face into Nil's chest while snaking one of her own hands down and tugging at the laces in his breeches, trying to be subtle as she took one of his nipples into her mouth, sucking on it a few times before biting down on it. His sharp intake of breath and the hand that shot into her hair told her that she had distracted him, and she wrapped her hand around his cock, giving it a few strokes while licking the skin that she had just broken. The grunting noises he made as she pumped her hand up and down his shaft only served to stoke her own desire, and she reached her free had down to grab his wrist and urge him to continue touching her. Nil obliged and pressed his fingers deeper inside her, but refused to move any further "You know what you have to do," he said with a smirk, staring into her eyes with a wolfish triumph. Aloy set her jaw and stopped her own motions, doing her best to stare back at him just as defiantly.

Nil chuckled at her "You drive a hard bargain, girl." he said, and simultaneously removed his hand from her sex while using the other to yank hers from his cock, walking backwards away from her and tucking it into his pants as he licked her arousal from his fingers. Aloy was stunned. He was actually walking away, _leaving_ her, a mess in her pants and her heart full of rage; she wanted to bring him down and slam her fist into his face until there was nothing but blood. Her rage was short lived as she watched him actually put his vest back on and gather his weapons. He turned to go and she felt her desperation welling up in her throat until she thought she would scream, "The night after we fought-" she choked out; he paused, listening but not turning around "that night was the first time I tried to make myself feel what you made me feel." Nil turned his head, glancing over his shoulder "And?"

Aloy felt her rage building again, but she took a deep breath and suppressed it "It wasn't as good as when you did it." her voice was quiet but clear; she didn't care what she had to do anymore as long as he started touching her again. Nil turned and began walking slowly back toward her; as he went, he removed his headdress and tossed it to the side, then removed his vest and let it fall to the ground. When he reached her, he pressed his hips against hers and took her chin between his index finger and thumb and tipped her face up to look at him. He gave two shallow bucks of his hips, and Aloy blinked, just catching on, before unlacing his breeches and pushing them down his hips "You want me to fuck you again, Aloy?" she nodded dumbly, hoping that it would be enough for him to stop tormenting her, but she was vain in her expectations as he merely gave her another predatory smile, rubbing his thumb over her bottom lip "Say it."

Licking her lips, Aloy steadied herself and looked him in the eye "Please, please fuck me, Nil." she whispered. His eyes glinted as he surged forward and crashed his mouth into hers, shoving his tongue into her mouth and ripping what clothing she had left from her lower body, grabbing her thighs and lifting her up to wrap them around his waist. She wrapped her arms around his neck and leaned in to plant little bites on his neck, when he shocked her by hoisting her up further, throwing her legs over his shoulders and setting her back against the rock's surface while he buried his face in her sex. Letting out a surprised squeal, she wriggled around, trying to break free of his vice-like grip "Nil! Wha-what are you doing?!" she gasped. He didn't even bother pausing to let her get her bearings, he merely gave her a smug grin and turned his attention to her complete destruction.

With the first few strokes of Nil's tongue, he had Aloy coming apart; she'd never it felt anything like it and, having a crisis of sensation, immediately tried to wrench her legs out of his grasp. He responded by tightening his grasp on her thighs, and pressing his tongue tighter against her clit, licking deeper with each stroke. As she grew slightly more used to being so exposed, Aloy wound the fingers of one hand in Nil's hair and grasped at the rock behind her; desperate for anything to help her feel grounded, she arched her back, rubbing her shoulders against the rock, taking no notice of the pain as each wave of pleasure washed over her. He seemed to relish his task, devouring her as if she were a feast and he a man who'd spent his life half starved. Deciding to finish her off, Nil swept his tongue over the outer lips of her pussy and sucked hard on her clit, sliding a finger into her and curling it as he sucked, dragging her orgasm from her body in a drawn out moan.

Aloy felt herself go limp, her head lolling to the side as Nil lifted his head from between her legs. Turning to him once she caught her breath to make some kind of smart remark, the words died on her lips when she saw that the desire had not diminished from his eyes; if anything, he looked even more like a hungry animal staring down it's prey as he slowly lowered her to the ground. Aloy's legs felt like jelly and part of her wanted to just lay down, but the way Nil looked at her, and the way his cock was standing straight up, barely grazing against her belly as she stood there, leaning against the rock, was stirring something deep inside of her. He grabbed her hips roughly, and guided her over to a patch of grass, turning her away from him and whispering in her ear "Down on your hands and knees now, girl." As she followed the order, she remembered the feeling of his knee pressed into her back and her blood quickened, wondering if he was going to tie a hand behind her back again.

Aloy was sure that her hips were going to be deeply bruised after all Nil's attentions. As she had gone down on her hands and knees, he had once again gripped her hips tightly, and she felt his cock brush over her ass as he positioned himself behind her, sending a chill of anticipation down her spine. Nil slipped a finger inside her, grunting with approval at the wetness he found there "Oh, you're ready, aren't you?" he said with a low laugh "Didn't I tell you I'd bring you death over and over again? I have so much more to teach you." With those words, he pressed the tip of his cock slowly into her entrance, inch by agonizing inch, until he was fully seated inside of her. Finally letting out the breath she'd been holding, Aloy closed her eyes and relished the feeling of being completely filled by his cock; she had been very much aware that she missed the feeling, but having it back again told her exactly how much, and she let out a little mewling sigh as she sank down to her elbows in the grass.

Nil bent over her until his stomach and chest lay in perfect contact with her back, one of his hands planted to the side of her elbow, while the other played lightly over her skin from her hip, over her belly and up to one of her breasts, where he stopped, kneading it for a moment before speaking: "There are so many ways to die, without really going, you know that, girl? This one might be the closest one to the real thing; I guess we will have to see how you fair, won't we?" his voice was soft like a warm breeze at night, but Aloy couldn't help but perceive a veiled threat in his words. He wasn't a tender man, and the softness of his voice didn't change anything, except to make her lower her guard slightly; at that point, she didn't care what he had in mind, she only knew that she wanted him to claim her body and use it as he pleased.

She communicated this by sighing in agreement and undulating her hips, pressing herself into him and trying to encourage him to continue. He obliged, and was soon drawing himself out of her, only to press back in again, giving her short, shallow thrusts; they weren't enough to bring her closer to orgasm, they only served to tease and build on her frustration. She whined petulantly and bucked her hips, trying to increase the power of their movement, but he only scolded her, slipping a hand up to wrap lightly around her neck, as if to both remind of his dominance, and to feel her pulse "Tsk tsk, soon enough, girl, don't be impatient." his words were lighthearted, but Aloy sensed a kind of iron resolve underneath them; he had a plan, and he wasn't going to let her derail it.

Nil soon began moving in earnest; quickening his pace, and drawing out of Aloy more fully, deepening his thrusts. As he did so, the air around them gradually filled with the sounds of their coupling; grunts and moans that came from both him and Aloy intermingled with the wet sounds of slick flesh sliding and slapping together. Nil began to slide a finger over her clit every now and then, dragging a strained moan from her throat each time. He liked the sounds she made, trying to make her louder and sound more desperate each time he did it.

When he could tell that she wouldn't be able to last very much longer, Nil entwined his fingers in Aloy's hair, and dragged her with him as he stood up. He only took the time to whisper in her ear "Look. The sun sets, Aloy. Will you as well?" before pushing her to the ground again while he remained upright. He gave her a few more powerful thrusts before grabbing one of her legs and lifted it up, throwing her off her balance, and drawing it around his waist, forcing her to support herself on one elbow while he fucked her sideways. He then stretched out with his right hand and again wrapped it around her neck, though this time with a much firmer grasp.

Aloy was surprised to find that his grasp on her throat didn't cut off her airway; it still made her feel somewhat lightheaded, but the way he would lessen his grip every now and then to stroke his fingers lightly up and down her throat made her eyes drift back in her head. At the same time, Nil reached over her thigh with his other hand and began rhythmically rubbing her clit with his ring and middle fingers, while at the same time tightening the one on her throat. The orgasm came fast and powerful, making an explosion of stars burst out and explode across Aloy's vision. At its peak, the feeling became intensely overwhelming, and as it washed over her, she was plunged into darkness, her last image of conscience was Nil's face as he stared into her eyes, the effects of his own orgasm flooding over him.

When she awoke several seconds later, she was again on her stomach, grass clinging to her face, and a blanket thrown over her body. Rolling over, Aloy could see that the sun almost completely gone, and a few stars had begun twinkling in the dying light. Nil was not readily in her line of vision, so she sat up and looked around, quickly spying him stepping into the nearby river. She decided to join him and, in rising, felt the foreshadowing of a whole host of aches and bruises that would soon manifest in full force. As she drew close to where Nil stood, waist deep in the water, he turned toward her "It seems the girl is strong indeed," he said with a grin "looks like I will have to invent more worthy methods of destroying her."

Aloy let the blanket fall and stepped into the water, her breath catching at how unexpectedly cold it was, but grateful for the way it distracted from the aching in her body. As she stood next to him, she felt a wave of fatigue flow over her, and felt herself sinking into the water, not even caring enough to stop herself. She felt two hands hook under her arms and guide her to a sitting position of the rocks, and then move to her hair, untying her braids and shaking them loose before pouring water over her head and begin working soap into her scalp. Roused by the uncharacteristic gentleness, she turned and looked up at Nil, the question written across her face; "You've once again proven yourself determined to cling to life, Aloy. You deserve the least bit of consideration after all." he said as his fingers worked through her hair "Why-" he stopped and leaned her head back to look into her eyes "You haven't forgotten how much I like you, have you? Our little meetings do bring a smile to my face whenever we're apart."

Aloy merely hummed an acknowledgement and leaned back against him, letting him finish washing her hair and the rest of her body, almost falling asleep on multiple occasions. Once he was finished, he lifted her up and carried her to where their belongings were strewn around their battleground. He dried her off with a blanket and dressed her in a few of her undamaged garments and himself in his breeches before building a fire and wrapping her in her own blanket and settled in, laying next to the fire and holding her tightly to his side. As she drifted off, he whispered in her ear "Aloy. I'll be gone in the morning, but we'll meet again soon enough, I feel. It seems you still refuse to believe that your life belongs to me, and we'll have to continue to debate it. Rest well until next time. You'll need it."


End file.
